NO....I DON'T WANT TO SELL IT TO YOU!

Did you ever think you would hear those words come from these lips?

I surely didn't but that is what I wanted to yell on Saturday afternoon.

Every year I participate in the Dulles Expo event the Northern Christmas Market and every year I do very well with book sales.

This year was no exception. OK, well with one.

A young woman walked up and immediately began to look at the covers of my books. Normally I would be excited about this but this young woman was between the age of 10-12.

Before you start saying I should encourage her to read. She can read just fine. Before you say that I should encourage her to buy my books. Screech! Pump the brakes.

My books contain, in industry terms, "ADULT SITUATIONS" or "PG17" in movie terms.

There is sex, violence and language that is not appropriate for anyone younger than the age of 18. Yes, I know children nowadays have foul mouths and probably have more sex than me but that doesn't mean I agree with it.

So, with that said, I steered her to my publishers YA (Young Adult) line. She picked them up, read the back and promptly put them back down and went BACK to mine.

Her mom asked me if it was appropriate for someone her age. My answer

HELL NO! OK, I didn't curse but I said NO as strongly as I could without cursing. The mom turned to her mother (the child's grandmother) and said, "What do you think?" In which she said, "it's your decision."

So, I'm thinking its almost over.  Sure I lose a sale but it would be worth it. The mother then did something unexpected. She asked me to show her a passage. I turned to the most graphic part that I could remember at that time and she read it. Here is what I heard, "Oh my...wow...whoa"

Now I'm thinking. I'm free and clear and she hands me the book back, looks at her daughter and says, "Well if you want it, go on and get it."

WHAT! WHAT...WHAT THE HELL! and the girl says but there are two..can I have both of them! and her mother says, "YES...get both of them"

I nearly passed out right then and there! I was so flustered that I couldn't even take the money. I was in shock.

Then the mother asked, "Can you sign them for her?"

In shock, I signed them to JOCELYN and I have been bothered by this ever since. My question is:

Would you be shocked or would you look at it like a sale to a customer. I welcome your thoughts.

#HASH TAGS, STATUSES, UPDATES AND POSTS

Have you become obsessed with social media? Are you always posting a status, an update or a #

Do you find yourself talking in 140 characters or less. What does 140 characters look like?

In the time it takes you to read the next group of words you will have read 140 characters. Our lives are becoming short bursts of information that make our points quickly.

Those last two sentences were exactly 140 characters. The problem with this is, that our children are not able to communicate with us properly. They have lost the ability to answer in complete sentences. They have lost the ability to speak clearly on the telephone. In fact they are losing the ability to spell words correctly.

For example; have you gotten a text from your child that says. B Home Soon or I C U L (I'll see you later)

Studies have shown that more children are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

In my younger days no child was diagnosed with this and if a child were, their parent was the expert and knew what to do for it. It was called, 'sit down until I tell you to move" . Nowadays we are given quick information and if you have to 'think' about it, you become frustrated and give up easily. This is due to the hash tags, the update of statuses and the posts on social media. All of the things that are scrolling up the screen so quickly we don't have time to digest the information

We want everything right now, at this very second, and if we don't get it; we move on to the next one.

So I ask you, has social media taken over your life? Do you need an intervention?

My prescription is; sit down, and write a letter. Yes, a good old fashioned letter. Write it to your parents, your children or your best friend. Then put it in the mail.

Trust me, they will love a piece of mail that doesn't require payment but makes them feel good.

THE JOYS OF SNOW DAYS

Nothing causes such joy in teachers as the words, SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED.

Don't get me wrong, we teachers love teaching but sometimes there comes a time when parents push those buttons or the students just don't want to be in class. In those moments, we want to scream, or at the very least have a drink. Makes me wonder why most teachers are not alcolhics because goodness knows we could be.

Dealing with the parents who don't want to believe that their 'little darlings' could ever talk that way to a teacher. For those parents who never see their child bring home any books or do homework for that matter and just 'can't understand why their child isn't passing" or "why you can't give him makeup work to do." 

Hmmm, how about because he/she had over a week to do the first assignment, chose not to do it and yet you believe that he will do something in one day because it's 'extra credit'. So we hope that the snow predictions are right and we get that great day from work called a SNOW DAY.

Ahh, the joys of snow days.

When we don't have to face another classroom full of disrespectful children. Another day we don't have to make that dreaded, "your child didn't do their homework" phone call. Another day we don't have to prepare the students to take a hour test that will measure if they have learned something new in math or reading or social studies.

Ahh, the joys of snow days.

When we get to sleep in without fear of over-sleeping. When we get to get up and realize that we have NOTHING to do that day except eat breakfast, turn on the TV and maybe, just maybe, walk the dog. (Cat lovers don't have to worry about such things) When we loaf around all day in our favorite footie pajamas, hair not combed, the shaver still on charge and the bed still crumpled from us laying in it all day. 

Ahh, the joys of snow days. 

But with the joy of snow days comes the dreaded, 'make up days" because we took to many snow days. 

But for now, we are just going to enjoy our snow days and worry about the rest later.